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After seven years of petitions, the east side of Chapman Lake is finally ready for residential development.
Tuesday, the Kosciusko County commissioners unanimously approved Leslie Konkle's petition to rezone ground from agricultural to residential. The property is on the west side of CR 400E and 1,080 feet south of CR 400N in Plain Township.
At the Feb. 2 Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission meeting, the plan commission unanimously voted to recommend to the commissioners the petition be denied. On rezonings, the plan commission is only a recommending board to the county commissioners, who have final approval or denial of rezonings. The members of the plan commission said the area wasn't ready for residential development.
But Tuesday, commissioner Ron Truex said he attended the plan commission meeting and then went to the property in question afterwards.
"Having attended the Area Plan meeting, I was surprised it was denied," said Truex.
While the plan commission said it wasn't time for residential development out there, Truex said it wasn't a farm community anymore. It is a residential area scattered through an agricultural zoned area and people want to move into the Chapman Lake area, he said, adding with this petition, the county has the opportunity to control housing instead of the scattered growth out there now.
"It's already residential," said Truex, "but it's uncontrolled residential sprawl."
He also said the petitioner's site is surrounded by sell-offs and housing. Truex moved to approve the petition instead of accepting the plan commission's recommendation.
Commissioner Avis Gunter made the second to Truex's motion and the motion was approved 3-0.
In his opening remarks to the commissioners, attorney Steve Snyder, representing Konkle, said since 1998, other petitions for rezonings in the area have been denied. But the east side of Chapman Lake is becoming residential.
The people who opposed the petition at the plan commission meeting, Snyder said, were from people who said it was an agricultural area and they wanted it to stay so. But Snyder said that just told him it was a residential area because people moved there to live in the country.
"It is not an ag area," Snyder said, it's an area of large residential lots. "It's truly a residential area." To call it an agricultural area doesn't fit the actuality of it, he said.
Remonstrator Dan Fritzinger said he and his neighbors wanted the petition denied so the area will remain agricultural.
"My feelings and the feelings of my neighbors around there is we'd like to see it remain ag," said Fritzinger.
In other business, the county commissioners:
• Approved the vacation of approximately 160 feet of Bass Drive, as requested by Roger and Ginger White. The platted right of way is on the south side of Palestine Lake in Oak Grove Beach Subdivision. There were no remonstrators.
• Approved both petitions by Rick Rookstool on properties that are side by side. The properties are on the south side of CR 500N and zero feet west of Ind. 13 in Tippecanoe Township. The first was a petition to rezone 6.27 acres from residential to commercial; the second was to rezone 9.46 acres from commercial to residential. There were no remonstrators.
• Approved Vasilios Batalis' petition to rezone 54.738 acres from agricultural to residential. The property is on the south side of CR 225S and zero feet east of Country Club Road in Wayne Township.
There were no remonstrators.
